OpIv: Back to Earth
Well, we knew the video game numbers and perfect season wouldn’t last forever. They had to end sometime, and Cincy knocked the Bills back down to earth. This was an all-around loss, with both the offense and the defense struggling and the coaches having no answers, all against a very mediocre Cincinnati team.
The Bills looked flat from the start. This was a classic “trap” game and they fell into it big time. Too much energy and emotion went into the win over NE and they were unprepared on Sunday.
-I was very disappointed in how Fitz handled the pressure. He rushed passes when he didn’t have to and it destroyed his accuracy. On the sack where he got his jersey ripped, he locked on to his receiver and it was way too easy for the defense to cover.
-Fred Jackson was about the only player worth a damn.
-Spiller came through with a key first down but still isn’t contributing consistently enough.
-It was nice to see Brad Smith involved in the regular offense and not just a part of gimmick plays.
-The lack of offense was disconcerting, but I’m more worried about the D. Despite all the effort put into the unit in the off-season, they still need some serious help. They live and die by the turnover- if they don’t get the big play, then they get pushed all over the field. They got picked apart by Andy friggin’ Dalton.
-As soon as the Bills failed to convert that 3rd down right at the 2 min warning, the game was over. I knew Cincy was just going to march straight down the field on this D. I hate that feeling.
-The pash rush is still terrible, even with Moats back at OLB.
-Troup and Carrington have been non-factors all year so far.
Broken record department:
-Merriman has been a non-factor. If anything, it looks like the opposing offense takes advantage of his over-pursuit by running draw plays straight at him.
-McKelvin got eaten alive again.
-George Wilson continued his Donte Whitner impression when attempting to cover TE’s.
-After the last couple of weeks, I started to think that maybe the curse was over and the sports gods no longer hate us. Then, we get burned by the “tuck rule,” we get burned by the incomplete pass to Johnson even with a review, Spiller and Jackson get dinged up on consecutive plays and Bell gets injured. They cut us a break, but the sports gods do indeed still hate Buffalo teams and their fans.
-I’m not going to blame the officials for the loss, because the officials weren’t the ones who gave up 400 yards of offense and only managed 13 offensive points, but the officiating in this game was god-awful. Cincy was mugging our WR’s all day and by my count, there were two obvious and one borderline PI calls that the refs missed. At one point I saw Kyle Williams being blatantly held in pursuit of Dalton and it wasn’t called. And, of course, the aforementioned Johnson non-catch is just inexplicable.
-My biggest concern about this game is that it provides a blueprint for how to beat the Bills. When the Bills are on O, get pressure on Fitz and make him move around in the pocket, and it’ll stifle the offense. When the Bills are on D, go to a power running game, or throw to the TE because we still can’t cover one, or get a tall WR on McKelvin and throw at him all day.
